


By a mere chance

by Delitheunicorn



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: F/M, First Meeting, Fluff, Rare Pair, crack couple, crossover couple, crossover ship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:00:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29875998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delitheunicorn/pseuds/Delitheunicorn
Summary: He wondered if it had been wise to follow her. Then again, taking risks was also a part of his new life.
Relationships: Alphonse Elric & Noah, Alphonse Elric/Noah
Kudos: 1





	By a mere chance

**Author's Note:**

> So this is not very good, nor very logical...But I really like the idea of these two being together, even if they're from different universes (well that hasn't stopped me before). Both have suffered so much, and went through a lot of pain in their journeys, but I feel they would find small comfort in each other. Noah would be with someone who would respect her and not judge her for her race, and Alphonse would understand the feeling of fleeing and running away, and people judging you only based on first impressions. He's so sweet and caring, she'd find herself happy with somebody who'd treat her so well.
> 
> This is FMAB!Alphonse btw. The one Alphonse she has less probability of being with, but the one I like the most too, haha.

_She kissed me._

He found it hard to believe that all of this started because a fallen shawl had caught his attention.

But what could Alphonse do? He wouldn’t let it pass by either, and let that innocent woman hurry back home with her item missing. Could have somebody else find the shawl, and then the woman had bonded with that person and invited him often instead to her house? Perhaps, but at this point Alphonse was wasting time wondering about possible what-ifs. He was there, he took a fancy to her, he accepted her invitation to a cup of tea, they accepted seeing each other more and more times, and then she kissed.

But all of things…He never imagined a kiss would feel that way. It wasn’t his first kiss, but it would differ from his small, old ones from Xing. Had he been in that armor for so long, that summer been so short that even his body felt numb and forgot the most basic of stimuli? The rusted silver still lingered in his lips as he tasted her. Yet…Yet… …Just barely. Would he later on recall this feeling, or would it vanish, just barely being held by the memory captured by his mind?

She opened her eyes once they stopped, but they carried the same heaviness and grey color of before; it seemed the kiss had done little to sooth her. Or rather, any small expectation seemed to vanish at the moment she ventured forward.

Meanwhile, his own fingers had decided to lay on the curves of his lips, trying to hold on to the last memories of the kiss before it faded to shades. Had it been like that? Did it taste like May’s hopeful kisses? Did Ed feel like that whenever he kissed Winry, or at least their first time? No, even if that were so, Al would waste time comparing himself to his brother; Ed at least had never missed a mouth. And as far as he knew, Ed had only eyes for Winry. 

The woman’s eyes searched for something in his, a spark maybe, a light to illuminate the tattered room; then they lowered to inspect the rest of his body. Yet the results seemed to disappoint her, as her head lowered.

“…No, you’re not him.”

“…Who should I be?”

Noah raised her fingers, slightly clicking them under her chin, and then raised her eyes back at him again. If there was a semblance for her to catch left in his eyes, if was gone for good at that point.

“You really don’t remember me, do you?”

“Well...”

“The rocket ship? Germany? The fair?”

His gaze lowered. He hated disappointing others, but he would not continue a lie, lest of all one that he was unsure of its correct answer.

“…I’m afraid not. Maybe…You got me confused.”

“…I think so, too.”

The girl turned towards the torn dark green wallpaper, twisting a finger against her brown locks. Deep in thought, she asked, without looking back at him.

“Do you want tea.”

That he gladly accepted. He would never deny the short relief tea brought. The tea was still inviting in the attic, even if the floors creaked with every step and the moldy couch whined whenever they sat.

He pondered as he dipped his piece of bread onto the hot cup. How did it happen? How did his continuing travels to Xing get delayed in such a manner? He simply had stopped for a quick coffee at the plaza, for a minute to ease his mind, and then…The shawl fell.

He would’ve just given her the coat and then been merrily on his way, but her words just cut him.

_“Alphonse…The armor’s gone…”_

Her words, she had just chosen the proper words to pique his attention. And by whims of fate, he followed her. Was this a mistake? Could he have avoided all of this had he just turned away?

 _Well, I guess Xing can wait a little bit._ He felt bold reasoning in such a manner.

And from that day on, he just followed her trail, unsure of where the road would lead to.

Once he got to properly know her, the questions started sprouting in his head. Odd, the girl lacked the pale hair and gleaming eyes of the Ishvalans, but based on her dark skin and soft accent; Al could reckon her as foreign to the nation of Anmestris. How long had she traveled? Was she all alone in the city? He guessed, but often her words were too short to get a concise answer.

Even her first proper words were as foggy.

“ _I will not rob you.”_

_“I wasn’t thinking you would do that.”_

But maybe he trusted too early, maybe he smiled too soon, and the girl held that as a greeting incentive.

Noah was her name, no surnames needed. No home, according to her words, but her little shack in the attic of an old apartment seemed to tell another story. The scrambled papers, the worn out lamp, the stains on the rug…

Still, they had talked, and he was curious about her knowledge of the armor, of him, of his brother, of the story of Amnestris, of the Homunculi, of their lost homes, but her words were vague…Until now.

But in that moment, in the present, his mind would only race back to that kiss. So was hers, for that matter. She looked at the cup of tea as he about to take his first sip.

“No…I was wrong.”

Her eyes seemed grey. They were always grey, it seemed.

“Forgive me, I’ve wasted your time.”

\--

Time. Time seemed to go much faster in his real body than it ever did in the suit. Would that be so? Once back in his room in the motel, he starred at his reflection in the mirror for a while, analyzing every movement the strange Alphonse did in response to his thoughts. Funny little fellow.

He slept, he ate, he touched, and he aged as well. Was he late? Would he have to carry his life behind, while Ed and the others further advanced? Would he need his cane for the rest of his life? The object rested near the bed, always reminding him of the price of his new reward. He could feel, he was certain of that, but he wondered how could he link old feelings with new sensations. Could he even feel a kiss? Would his nerves respond well? Was he just taken aback by all the strange phenomena that happened in his life lately?

Or was he just overthinking it and he should just accept that he found the young lady lovely? He didn’t think Edward had much trouble with Winry regarding this issue. After all, he wanted to have a girlfriend for so long…He remembered fondly May, and how his first summer in Xing was sunsets and scented flowers all day long, but that had been long ago. She had left, and so did he. She would still smile at him, but the old stars in her eyes had settled on turning into grounded rocks.

_A new chance, maybe…_

\--

The next time he saw her, she seemed less dour. Why did he still want to see her? Had he been bound by that kiss? Or was it simply due to boredom? By all accounts, he should have boarded the train just after that kiss…But something called back to him, to run to that moldy attic.

“Good evening, miss.”  
  
She gasped once she fully opened the door.

“Sir…If you wish to enter, you may, but I have erred.”  
  
“Nothing wrong has happened, by my accounts. Come on, you shouldn’t be alone these days.”

“Forgive me for…”  
  
“There’s nothing to forgive, nothing happened.” He smiled. “You shouldn’t be sorry all the time. No need to feel guilty over everything.”  
  
“…Sometimes you have caused a lot of damage, and there’s reason for guilt.”

“…I don’t see how you would be a damaging person.”  
  
“There’s a lot you don’t know of me...”

“…But you seem to know of me.”

And anyways, she shouldn’t deny herself. An air of familiarity sprung from her the more time Alphonse spent knowing her. Probably they met before, who knew? He certainly knew at this point that he shouldn’t shrug off luck or fate.

“If I spoke of more than I intended…"

“Crueler people have known about my brother and I, and the only thing you have done so far is invite me to tea. If the tea was poisoned, then…”

“…You’re not afraid of me.”

“…You’re not carrying a weapon or lunging your fists at me, no need to be afraid.” _Smile again._ The more he smiled, the more at home she would feel. _When she was already at home in the first place._

“…Others have.”

“In your land, right?”

She spoke often of that, of the insults and stones hurled at her, and how often she ran in her life to avoid the sharp claws following her. That she was a thief, that she would stab citizens in the guts. Would this land be better? The only time he took notice of it were strange looks and whispers in the street directed at them as they walked, but so far, there was no overt malice.

And even if they tried…Alphonse was a gentle soul in the first place, but he would never let anyone close to him feel fear.

“I’m sorry, you suffered too much.”

“I am. I’m often so tired…I miss my home.”

He was right, then. She, also, lacked a home. Had her house also caught fire, and she found refuge in the night as she fled? Had she been evicted and betrayed by close friends?

“If there’s anything I can do…”

“…I just ask for forgiveness.”

“There’s nothing to forgive…”

“…But please, accept it. That way, he’ll know…In the only way I can tell him, now…”

She extended her hands, staring intensely at him, yet he gawped for a few seconds. Should he…Did she want to…?

No, she showed it clearly. She hurried to clasp hands with him. _Don’t be so fearful._

“….I accept it. There’s nothing to worry about.”

He smiled, a small, shy one, but it fell deaf upon her. The floor creaked as she paced away from him to the small, grey window.

“I’ll never see him again, I don’t know how to leave this land…You’re my only hope now…”

_One chance, one hope._

_“_ Come live with us. We can find you a place in Resembool. You may taste Winry’s cooking, and get to meet Ed and…”

“Can it be?”

“…We can try.”

Something took ahold of him for his next act. Perhaps it was the other one possessing him, perhaps he wished to advance, he wasn’t sure, but what he was sure was the yearning sensation to be near her. He held her hair, a small lock, soft against his fingers. Again, a queer sensation. Foreign, almost. Those fingers seemed to belong to somebody else at times.

Her head slightly titled, but the window was too attractive for her to ignore. Noah kept still, staring at it, but Alphonse noted how her shoulders untensed as he kept holding on.

The time flew, and the hours seemed to expand to his will. Alphonse even at times forgot what day it was. Whenever they visited the park, or walked in the plaza, or fed the stray cats, or drank tea in the attic….The ache in his legs even seemed to lessen the more time he smiled at her. He would’ve wanted to expand more time, more days with her, count the fallen leaves…

But no, Xing was waiting. Ed would be waiting, too. He wouldn’t delay his journey even further.

\--

“Will I see you again?” The last day they met, the light in her eyes seemed to dim once more.  
  
“If I pass again by the city from Xing, then be certain.” He nodded. “I’ll send you a letter.”

But her hands were still clasped over her arms, trembling for a cold that only she could feel. Alphonse raised a hand, but the lady stopped him.

“We’ll see to it, I don’t want to force you either way.”

She decided to follow him to the station, preferring to make a proper goodbye instead of just leaving him on a cold note in the attic. He agreed, he would prefer to see her bathed in sunlight then cowering over the corners of the cold cellar.

“Take care, Alphonse… I’m so glad I’ve met you.”  
  
“I promise we’ll see each other again.”

And that time, before he boarded the train, she planted another kiss on his lips. This time the kiss seemed less alien, warmer even; he welcomed it.

He would remember that kiss later on as he wrote his newly-found Xingese discoveries, as he mapped the stars at night, as he laughed remembering his brother.

He would be mindful to send her a thoughtful letter. With flowers, too.


End file.
